Parkives: Tomorrow’s Residual Media…Today
J.D. Connor / Yale University
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/7047856[/vimeo]
The state of the art in theme park attractions is “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” the flagship ride at Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Pre-ride, Harry and the gang give advice via the Musion Eyeliner, a projection technology that is an updated version of the Pepper’s Ghost illusion, like a teleprompter. It was the tech behind the ghost Tupac at Coachella last year.
For the actual Journey, riders are move past a series of projections, an animatronic Whomping Willow, simulated fire, spitting spiders, and, centrally, three mini-Omnimax domes. In the domes, the world opens up as you’re chased by a dragon, play some quidditch, and are hounded by Dementors.
To carry riders through, a KUKA robot arm wields a 4-seat bench like a wand. It pivots and lurches in all directions while the entire arm moves along on a track. KUKA is an industrial robotics company that has only lately gotten into the ride business, but they are, like “Forbidden Journey,” cutting edge.
Yet innovation is not enough. Every major amusement park becomes its own threefold archive. First, a park banks technologies of entertainment—complexes of physics and media, narrative and sensation. Second, it preserves an ideology of entertainment—a vision of the visitor’s relation to spatial arrangement and design. Not as obvious as the technological complexes that it comprises, a park’s vision is more inbuilt and less updatable.1 Finally, a park is a material archive of contract—arrangements of intellectual property and labor that swathe technology and media. Disney may own Marvel, but Universal owns the rights to exploit the Marvel characters in perpetuity.2
Whether technological, ideological, or contractual, parkives are not often motivated by anything like a preservationist impulse—unless that impulse serves its ideology or contract. Rather, these are places where return on investment is high enough to justify their continued operation. Parkives are fermatas in the music of capital.
Since major rides are conceived as relatively durable embodiments of an organization’s vision, secured by contract and channeled through narrative and experience, they are inevitable centers of the sort of corporate reflexivity John Caldwell, Jerome Christensen and others have drawn our attention to.3 What makes a ride unlike a movie or a television show is the paramount role of experience in the configuration. The iterability and extremity of the ride shifts the balance between story and stunt. A studio imagines its futures through its narrative; a park channels its audiences through ideal experiences.
The multiaxis motion enabled by the KUKA robot arm puts the rider through paces similar to those of Filmotechnic’s “Russian Arm.”
The dramatic alterations in camera position are replicated in the dramatic alterations in audience position. This alignment of production with experience links the two aspects of the Universal parks—the “behind the scenes” of Universal Studios and the packaged modalities of Islands of Adventure. It is no accident, then, that the phenomenal success of Wizarding World has encouraged Universal to make the Potterverse the actual link between the two parks. Plans are in the works to build a Diagon Alley and a Gringott’s ride in Universal Studios that will connect with Islands via a Hogwarts Express.4
However important the narrative arcs of the rides are, major parks are far more dependent on design in order to achieve the necessary levels of integration between event (ride), consumption (shop and restaurant), and cultural extension (various “lands”). Stuart Craig and his production design team from Harry Potter oversaw the reconstruction of Universal’s “Merlin Woods” in line with the Potterverse. Contractual stability made design continuity possible here, just as it had with Universal’s own Jurassic Park.
Disney, the parkiest major studio, has always been overbranded. Family friendly can mean dangerously anodyne, and “disneyfied” is a slur that even company executives use. That brand overhang doomed Disney’s America, the historical theme park it intended to build in Virginia. And when the company launched Walt Disney Theatrical in 1993 and became the anchor of the redevelopment of Times Square, it had a narrow path to thread.
Where Universal had to convince people that what they really wanted in a theme park was a visit behind the scenes, Disney had to convince Broadway theatergoers that they were not visiting a theme park at all while still capitalizing on the company’s family-friendly brand. The solution to the problem was to cultivate artistic takes on company properties. It worked spectacularly well with The Lion King in 1997 and has continued. Disney is currently backing the Peter Pan prequel Peter and the Starcatcher, a small-scale production that everywhere trumpets its handbuilt aesthetic. But the real indication that the “art of Disney” approach is working is Newsies!
Newsies! had been envisioned as a touring show, but it performed well enough in its New Jersey previews to be moved to Broadway. Based on a 1992 film that performed poorly at the box office, Newsies is the Ragtime story of media-driven class formation, filtered through Fredric Jameson, and rewritten so that the happy ending is not revolution but making good by marrying the boss’s daughter.
“Seize the Day” is rousing; the dancing is energetic, but what makes Newsies go is its scenic design. The set consists of three erector-settish towers which move in concert, configuring themselves as a single building, a streetscape, the bowels of The New York World as necessary.
Each tower is divided into three screened floors, and each screen can be projected upon. Hollywood Squares meets Times Square. Impressively, the projections occupy their squares perfectly, even when the towers are turned or in motion—a computer and operator are seamlessly keystoning on the fly. Sven Ortel, the Tony-nominated designer who handled the projections, notes that the algorithms that made this advance possible only became available in the last two to three years. That great leap forward disappears—intentionally—in Newsies!’ design.
For Newsies! Ortel wanted to “make the technology disappear to some degree.”5 That disappearance is the relative occlusion of Disney itself, the tempered presence of the conglomerate, taking “a backseat” to narrative, to individuality, to art. If theme parks are self-archiving, Newsies! knows the day it seizes is long past.
Image Credits:
1. KUKA Robocoaster mounted to a track.
2. The Russian Arm.
3. Sven Ortel’s design in Newsies!.
- Perceptions of scarcity determine which ideology reigns at a park. Where land is rare, the park becomes a preserve (Knott’s Berry Farm; Rye Playland; Cedar Point). Where vision is scarce, the park becomes a monument (Disneyland). And where narrative is scarce, the park becomes a studio (Storyland, Universal Studios). [↩]
- The conviction that movie studios were the central narrative engines of global culture reached its peak in the early 90s. Disney opened Disney-MGM Studios in 1989; Universal built its Orlando properties to compete with Disney; Paramount bought Kings Island, Kings Dominion and others in 1992; and Time/Warner took sole ownership of Six Flags in 1993. Warners sold out in 1998, and Paramount exited the theme park business when Sumner Redstone broke up the company. Both studios reverted to the earlier model where they profited from licensing their franchises—hence the Wizarding World at Universal. Universal set about securing intellectual property in huge chunks—Sony’s Men in Black, Fox’s The Simpsons, Dr. Seuss, Marvel. These would become the “Islands of Adventure,” the companion park to its Universal Studios. [↩]
- John Caldwell, Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Critical Practice in Film and Television (Durham: Duke University Press, 2008); Jerome Christensen, America’s Corporate Art: The Studio Authorship of Hollywood Motion Pictures (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011). [↩]
- “Permits Show Hogwarts Express to Link Islands of Adventure to Universal Studios Orlando.” [↩]
- Interview with the author, 1/31/13. [↩]
And then there’s the recall function that Disney’s been playing around with, where the studio mines the park for narrative material that comes pre-branded and can be re-purposed à la Pirates of the Caribbean. Then you have new branding opportunities that feed back into the park tradition, updating a nostalgic cultural icon (the ride) for a more cynical generation, and renewing its lease in the popular imagination (the franchise — though Disney failed pretty spectacularly to that end with The Country Bears and The Haunted Mansion). Now it seems they’re trying again handing off the project to ABC this time. (And does anyone know if this one‘s still in the works?)
(If rides are like narratives, are these movies adaptations? Is a ride a text? Or is the ride’s “narrative” nonspecific enough that we’re only interested in design and iconography here?)
Good questions, LB. The Disney ride->movie->ride cycle can seem like an adaptation when you’re the one charged with making a particular transition (like the Chabon project), but it seems to be a big transmedia meatball when you’re managing it across platforms. The narrative may feel nonspecific, but the first Pirates movie, for example, did a great job of picking out details from the ride as-it-was then, and the Tower of Terror TV movie somehow has less story than the ride.
But there are several stories converging in every attraction, and I thought the quasi-adaptation story was one people were familiar with. (If only from the jokes: “Hollywood out of ideas: Disney developing Jungle Cruise/Tiki Room/Mission to Mars/Big Thunder Mountain”) By writing (briefly) about the convergence of technology, experience, park ideology, etc., I thought I could liberate us from the eternal present of the adaptation cycle.
It also seems to be the case that Disney’s aggressive cycling is unique to Disney, and that Universal is really built around contract. Each Island of Adventure is a billboard advertising a particular IP deal.
Nice. I like the meatball image. Thanks! Great article!
I find, in particular, the coinage “parkive” to be of interest. Not only do these rides and shows often serve as milestones of technological achievement over the years with regards to the creation of immersive or more directly experiential permutations of a given franchise or text, but maybe more importantly, the rides and permanent installations act as architectural declarations of the success/prominence of a given constellation of media.
In the case of Harry Potter, it is likely that the original books, as core texts, will continue to be relevant and remembered at least to some degree in decades to come. But will the films have the same sort of reputation? The video games? The websites? After interest and hype fades, much of the franchise media and merchandise will become relevant only in terms of the Harry Potter ‘sensation’. But will the attractions still be in operation?
It seems like creating permanent structures like rides have a sort of dual purpose. On the one hand, they may, at some point in the future, be seen as somewhat lonely or nostalgic physical representations of the extent of the franchise’s original success at its height. On the other hand, the franchise’s continued visual/spatial presence within the context of theme parks, or enterprises such as Walt Disney Theatrical providing a fixed location for the promulgation of new interpretations of older content over time, serves as loci for the repeated exposure of these media franchises to successive generations, whose first interaction with Harry Potter – to cite one example – may be at Universal’s “Wizarding World.”
Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you might be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back at some point. I want to encourage yourself to continue your great job, have a nice afternoon!
My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find most of your post’s to be precisely what I’m looking for. Do you offer guest writers to write content for yourself? I wouldn’t mind
creating a post or elaborating on most of the subjects you write in relation to here.
Again, awesome web site!
My partner and I stumbled over here different web page and thought I should check things out.
I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward
to looking over your web page repeatedly.
Everyone loves what you guys are usually up too. This kind of clever work and coverage!
Keep up the good works guys I’ve included you guys to blogroll.
Hello there I am so delighted I found your web site, I really found you by accident, while I was looking on Digg for something else, Anyways I am here now and would just like to say thanks for a tremendous post and a all round thrilling blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read it all at the moment but I have saved it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the awesome job.
Admiring the persistence you put into your blog and in depth information you present. It’s great to come across
a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed material. Great read! I’ve bookmarked
your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
Hello! I’ve been reading your blog for some time now and finally
got the bravery to go ahead and give you a shout out
from Dallas Texas! Just wanted to tell you keep up the good work!
I’m really enjoying the theme/design of your web site. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues? A few of my blog audience have complained about my site not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Opera. Do you have any advice to help fix this problem?
I’m curious to find out what blog system you happen to be using?
I’m having some minor security problems with my latest site and I would like to find something more safeguarded. Do you have any solutions?
Hmm it seems like your site ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll
just sum it up what I submitted and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I as well am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to everything.
Do you have any points for inexperienced blog writers? I’d definitely appreciate it.
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very
hard to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance.
I must say you’ve done a fantastic job with this. Additionally, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Safari. Superb Blog!
Do you mind if I quote a few of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back to your website? My blog site is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from some of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this okay with you. Appreciate it!
Hey would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re utilizing?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you recommend a good hosting provider at a honest price? Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
Great site you have here but I was curious if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics discussed here? I’d really like to be a part
of online community where I can get opinions from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know.
Bless you!
Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your
posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same subjects?
Appreciate it!
Do you have a spam problem on this site; I also am a blogger, and I was curious about your situation;
we have developed some nice methods and we are looking to exchange solutions with others, please shoot me an email if interested.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog. You have some really good articles and I believe I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like
to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
Please shoot me an email if interested. Thank you!
Have you ever considered about including a
little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is valuable
and all. However think about if you added some great pictures or videos to
give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but
with pics and videos, this blog could certainly be one
of the most beneficial in its field. Good blog!
Fascinating blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my
blog stand out. Please let me know where you
got your theme. Appreciate it
Hello would you mind stating which blog platform
you’re working with? I’m looking to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a hard time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design and style seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something completely
unique. P.S Apologies for getting off-topic but I had
to ask!
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Opera.
I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem fixed soon.
Many thanks
With havin so much content do you ever run into
any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement?
My site has a lot of unique content I’ve either written myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my agreement. Do you know any techniques to help prevent content from being stolen? I’d genuinely
appreciate it.
Have you ever thought about creating an e-book or guest authoring on other sites?
I have a blog based upon on the same subjects you
discuss and would love to have you share some stories/information.
I know my readers would appreciate your work.
If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to check it out. I’m
definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Superb blog and wonderful design and style.
Amazing blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own site soon
but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m
completely overwhelmed .. Any ideas? Many thanks!
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .
net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about
a year and am worried about switching to another platform.
I have heard very good things about blogengine.net.
Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it?
Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like
to shoot you an e-mail. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it improve over time.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a doubt donate to this superb blog!
I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will share this blog with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
Greetings from Idaho! I’m bored at work so I decided to
check out your website on my iphone during lunch break. I
enjoy the information you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how quick your
blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, fantastic blog!
Hello! I know this is kinda off topic however I’d figured I’d ask. Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog post or vice-versa? My blog goes over a lot of the same subjects as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other. If you’re interested feel free to send
me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!
Wonderful blog by the way!
At this time it looks like BlogEngine is the best blogging platform available right now.
(from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
Outstanding post however I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Kudos!
Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the
same blog platform as yours and I’m having problems finding one? Thanks a lot!
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
Howdy! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
Hello! I know this is kinda off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed
up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform.
I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post
reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this.
I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read.
Thank you for sharing!
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems
as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what
youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your
site when you could be giving us something informative to
read?
Today, I went to the beachfront with my children.
I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed.
There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to
go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!
The other day, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iphone
and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five foot drop,
just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is
now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is completely
off topic but I had to share it with someone!
I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of your website?
Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in
the way of content so people could connect with it better.
Youve got an awful lot of text for only
having 1 or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?
Hello, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar
one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of
spam remarks? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything
you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any support is very much appreciated.
This design is steller! You most certainly know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
I’m truly enjoying the design and layout of your website.
It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Superb work!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but
after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!
Hi there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of
people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know.
Cheers
Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when
opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping.
I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, terrific blog!
Wonderful blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Cheers
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast.
I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to start.
Do you have any tips or suggestions? Thanks
Hello! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My weblog looks weird when viewing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to correct this issue.
If you have any recommendations, please share. With thanks!
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up!
I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back down the road. Cheers
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to create my own blog
and would like to find out where u got this from. thank you
Whoa! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a entirely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Outstanding choice of colors!
Hey there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading properly.
I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it
in two different web browsers and both show the same outcome.
Whats up are using WordPress for your site platform?
I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and
set up my own. Do you need any html coding knowledge to make your
own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if
blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code
with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding expertise so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions to stop hackers?
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok.
I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new posts.
Hi! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing
everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?
Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted
keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Thank you!
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into
starting my own weblog and was curious what all
is needed to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100% positive. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated. Kudos
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on
my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I’m not sure why but this weblog is loading very slow for me.
Is anyone else having this problem or is it a issue on my end?
I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
Hi! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward
to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m
not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say wonderful blog!
Pingback: Space Ghosts: Cartoons and Talk Shows J.D. Connor / Yale University | Flow
Great article, thanks for it
Natural Med Store is one of the most qualified pharmacies for a medical consignment of marijuana. We help you to buy weeds online in a safe and discreet way. Buy Kurupts Moonrock Online we understand that patients for whatever reason may have difficulty buying drugs at a pharmacy and therefore offer easy access to cannabis and weeds through our online services. We have spent many years building a solid reputation for medical patients and have a passion for the safe and legal use of medical marijuana.